Haunting Burn
by Serenity Red Eclipse
Summary: The house burns with Usagi inside. Mamoru becomes a (reasonable) mess but there is a random burning sensation he has felt ever since the incident. Is it the weight of his feelings? Or is something else at play?
1. Torched

_So I listened to an old song from Danny Phantom by the ghost Ember. (It's called Remember) I looked into it (it's about how she died) and found it interesting. That whole day gave me ideas of a short fic idea, but I'm going to stick with the main one._ _I'm making this where Mamoru isn't dead after the princess is found, but he doesn't know it's Usagi. Yet._

_\--‐--_

Usagi sat down on a stool and prepared to order her usual. A milkshake. She really needed it after the weeks she'd been having. She'd been so down that it was concerning for everyone around her as she was usually so happy.

Motoki walked over and leaned on the counter across from her. "Heya, Usagi-chan. How are you?" His voice as light and full of joy as ever.

"I'm doing fine, Toki-onii- san." He already knew, but he asked anyways, hoping her mood had improved, but he knows Usagi feels much more about things than other people do.

"Okay. I'll go grab your milkshake I made earlier." He decided to always have one prepared for her after the first few times she'd come in. She smiled at him before he retreated to the kitchen for a few moments.

Mamoru was nearby, of course, and always early to get to Crown before the blonde. He looked over and wondered why she looked so drained. Her attitude was usually so happy and ever since something happened two weeks ago, she's been in a bit of a gloomy mood. This was a very long period for him to not see her in a happy mood and he seriously considered cornering her or one of her friends for details.

At least he was smart enough to think about not insulting her at this time. He'd still call her 'Odango Atama,' but in a fairly less rude way and without inquiries into her bad grades. He cared more about her well being.

Every common run in with her lately was her walking into him and then right past him with a simple 'sorry' and it annoyed him to no end.

"Odango Atama. Lovely day, is it not?" He asked. She looked at him, her eyes were reflecting the feeling of being tired.

"Hm.. Yeah. I wasn't really paying attention. And I was in school, so there wasn't really much to see without Haruna-san yelling at me." She giggled a bit at the thought of the angry teacher. Motoki set down her milkshake and smiled at this.

"Well, I guess that's good then. As long as you take the time to look around and enjoy the present..." Mamoru could never form a proper thought when around her since he was used to insulting her. Jokingly. Obviously.

"You have a point." She sipped her drink slowly.

"Usagi-chan!" Minako shouted, rushing in with her usual cheery demeanor. She came in and hugged the odango girl from behind. "Are you still in a funk?" She asked sympathetically.

"Feels like it." Was her response. Minako just squeezed her friend a little more to a point of where breathing became more difficult.

"We'll do what we can, Usa-chan! We miss your smile." Minako then took off out of the arcade. Mamoru just had to wonder what had happened to the girl of his affections.

Oh yeah, he was in love, wasn't he?

A difficult realization that took him a week to finally accept, but at least he finally got to acceptance.

As her gaze was focused on the slowly draining glass of her drink, he began to think for a bit. He wanted to make sure she was never sad again because clearly, when she wasn't happy, then he could not relax or be at peace with himself. It was then that he figured he ought to do something to lighten her mood. It was the least he could do for the girl who changed his life.

Getting up and leaving a tip for his buddy behind the counter, he quickly packed up his things to make his way out of the arcade, his "flawless" plan formulating in his head.

Usagi watched him get up and leave with curious eyes. She couldn't help but notice the small smile on his face.

"See you around, Odango." He called out to her.

"I hope not, Baka!" She replied, the corners of her mouth turning up into a smile as she heard his chuckle while he walked out. She missed their banter over the past few weeks. Her fault, she knew, but she didn't want to hear what he'd have to say right now.

_"Although... I do wonder where he's off to in such a hurry..."_ She watched and then shrugged, as it wasn't her business, but it still bothered her and _that_ annoyed her more.

Finishing off her drink, she paid the needed amount of yen and then grabbed her bag before waving goodbye to Motoki. "See you tomorrow!"

He waved back with enthusiasm. He saw this as a little bit of hope. Hope that she's started to get better.

\--

Arriving at her home, Usagi went into the kitchen to grab a small snack. On the fridge, she saw a bright yellow sticky note that looked to be in her Mom's neat handwriting.

_"Usagi, your father and I went out to a quick meeting at his work. He may be getting a promotion! Dinner is in the fridge and Shingo is home already. We'll be back a little late. Please don't burn the house down while we're gone. –Mama"_

"Geez, thanks for the trust, Mama." She mumbled with a pout as she put the note in her pocket. Grabbing a cookie, she headed to her room to hopefully get herself started on homework. Today was rough enough as it was and she felt extremely sleepy.

"Luna?" The girl called out for her feline friend. A blob of black bolted out of the girl's room and down the stairs to greet it's owner.

"Usagi-chan, how was your day?" The cat inquired, knowing of the girl's mood as of late.

"Kinda better than usual." She smiled a bit. Luna smiled as she hopped up and onto the girl's shoulders with ease.

"Let's go upstairs and start on homework." Usagi yawned.

"HEY BAKA! STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF!" Usagi rolled her eyes at her brother.

Luna thought it was almost tantalizing how slowly Usagi was walking up the stairs.

Once reaching the room and opening the door, Usagi saw the small bouquet of freshly bloomed roses, which confused her. There was no way they could have bloomed in the months of autumn. Everything around was practically dead already!

Setting her school bag down, she saw a card that was tied to one of the roses and she picked it up to examine it.

_"Beauties for a beauty. Things will be better soon, Odango."_

Only one person referred to her (at least, she hoped so) affectionately (maybe?) as Odango. Plus, she doubted that Rei would gift her roses, or even know where to find them this time of year.

She felt her face flush a bit as the idea of the Baka giving her a romantic gesture of flowers. Especially her favorite type which even meant 'love.'

"He dropped by earlier. He actually put them on your bed via the window actually. He told me to be quiet, as if he knew I could speak..." Luna jumped onto the bed.

"I doubt he actually knows." She was smiling with her eyes focused on the flowers. "Do you think this means he cares?"

"He did climb the tree outside to get up here... That is not an easy feat, by any means." Luna shrugged her little cat shrug before getting comfy on her spot of the bed.

Usagi went down stairs to grab one of her mom's vases to put the flowers in. She felt the stems and noticed that they lacked thorns. _"That's good. They're less of a hazard to me and my clumsy nature."_ She sighed in relief.

She watched as the clear vase she grabbed filled with water. Grabbing some scissors, she cut the stems a bit shorter, as she's seen her Mom do. She put a few of the roses in but decided to keep one out so that she could hold it. The petals were soft and she loved the feel of them between her fingers. Returning to her room, she put the vase on the dresser.

She kept the one rose next to her as she started to do her homework with some struggle. Eventually, she figured it out, even though some problems in different classes were still blank.

Happy about her progress, she stuffed the papers away into her bag and proceeded to change into a tank top and pajama pants.

Checking the time, it was nearing 7, and she figured she was done for now and maybe a nap wouldn't hurt. Besides, a youma may be wandering and the girls may call at any time.

\--

Mamoru rubbed his temples while over looking his notes. A sudden headache had formed after he had gotten home and it was bugging him to no end.

Closing the binder, he decided it would be best to head to bed for now.

His dreams have always been weird. A strange woman calls out to him in his sleep after all.

Mamoru always wondered if he'd ever get to see her face. The nightly escapades don't exactly help since he has to look for the crystal and the scout battles with the Dark Kingdom make it worse.

As far as his senses go right now, there would be no attack tonight, but he had a bad feeling in his gut after he left Usagi's house. He wasn't sure why either since he only ever felt this feeling when Sailor Moon was in danger.

Climbing into his bed, he began to relax. Sleep may not always be peaceful, but he needed it.

Although, he felt the tugging at his gut getting stronger and harder to ignore, but sleep was also pulling at him, only much more strongly than usual. Sleep won this round.

\--

_Mamoru woke up at the smell of smoke. the room he woke up in was up in flames._

"Some nightmare...?"_He asked himself mentally as he quickly looked around. He could feel the heat on his skin and the smoke beginning to clog his lungs._

_But one thing he realized was that he wasn't in control._

_He watched as his eyes supposedly gazed around in horror. Then he felt sudden terror as he began to look around for something, but he didn't know what._

_The blankets burned his hands, which looked oddly feminine. That being smaller than usual. The hands grabbed at what appeared to be a cat, who appeared motionless. His heart rate sped up as he looked around to get out, but only saw the flames and smoke._

_Coughing, the left hand felt for what must have been the window by the bed. Feeling the lock on it, the hand turned it to unlock, and proceeded to shake the cat a bit._

_He saw as it opened its eyes and even coughed itself._

_"Luna! You need to get out now! I gotta go get Shingo as long as he hasn't already gotten out..."_

_"But..." The cat could speak?!_

_"Just go now! I'll be fine!" The cat nodded as she stood in the girl's hands and jumped through the smoke._

_He__ then got up from the bed, stepping onto the burning floor and looked into the mirror on the dresser. His own eyes widened in horror as the tug suddenly made sense._

_Looking back was Usagi, only a little different. Her hair was burned off on some places and some of her arms were burned. Black marks were on her face and down on her pajamas and hands. She covered her mouth and began violently coughing, but Mamoru felt as if this was he himself, choking on smoke._

_As Usagi, they ran out of her room, the floor burning their feet and legs as she ran to his room, a mess. Some of their hair had burned, but that didn't matter as much as her brother did._

_Opening his door, they could partially see his form on the bed. Praying to every God that could come to mind, they rushed and picked him up into their arms and quickly backed out of the room. He was heavy and the smoke was not helping in seeing the path to the door and everything burned at every touch._

_Things got so dark in their vision as they reached the front door, and they successfully opened it. They tripped a bit getting down the stairs but they'd safely set the boy down outside._

_Looking at the house, it was up in flames with fire pouring out of every window and there was some broken glass that they were lucky to not have stepped on._

_"... I have to go back." Usagi coughed out into her hand._

"What? No!" _Mamoru tried to argue, but it was difficult when you weren't the one in control. _"What reason could you possibly have to go back in?!"

_"My brooch... I need it..." As if she could hear him._

_They rushed back in through the door, the coughing getting worse as the body was weakening from the influx of smoke into the lungs._

_Everything burned through their skin, and Mamoru could feel the pain stinging and it was excruciating. He wanted to wake up, but he couldn't because he was being forced to watch someone he loved run through a dangerous_ _setting._

_Their gaze was settled on getting up the stairs and into the room where they started, things fading in their sight_, _and the pain started fading for Mamoru. He looked on in fear as her hands grasped at the usual pink brooch she wore often._

"Why was that so important...?" _He had to wonder._

_Things began to fade as the feeling of breathing that was already difficult. He saw as her hand reached out for his perfectly fine red rose_ _and grasp it firmly in her hand. She had held both things close to her chest as things got darker._

_He knew she was losing consciousness. Something burned in him, and--_

_\--_

He woke up as a sweating mess but he immediately jumped out of bed, threw on a robe, transformed to Tuxedo Kamen, and literally flew out from the balcony of his apartment.

Something broke inside of him, and he didn't want to know what it was. It may have just been his heart. Yet, he could not stop to think as his adrenaline was rushing and he had to get to Usagi.

Once he reached the house, he saw the ambulance and fire trucks on the street, even a couple of adults whose faces were red from crying. He quickly jumped down and detransformed, running up to see something similar to what he originally saw, only worse. People were at work to put it out, and it was slowly working, but not quickly enough.

He rushed up only for some of the fire fighters to push him away.

"Sir, it's not safe!"

"The fire is stil lit! You need to stay out here!"

"I need to get to her! There's a girl that's still in there!" He argued, but they have to push him away from the building.

"We're sorry, sir, but you need to stay back." The man's voice calmed, almost sad. A little broken, even.

Mamoru could not stop. If he did, he'd have to feel the pain of what happened and he wanted to delay that for however long he needed to.

A hand rested on his shoulder and he turned around and saw the couple. He assumed they were her parents. Her father had his hand on his shoulder.

"Son... Just... Do as they say."

"I... I can't... Usako... she..." He had stopped. He could feel his heart pumping against in his chest at a rapid rate and it hurt.

He hung his head in defeat before falling to the ground back onto his bottom. All he could do was sit and watch the flames while feeling the line that had connected him to Usagi in the dream.

He felt it snap.

_\--_

_I'm such a hypocrite for saying that we need to stop attacking Mamo. Why did the shows make him easy to torture?__Jk, Jk, but we really need to stop._ _Anywho, shit post at most, other stories WILL come forward as soon as I can spit them out. I just need to focus more._


	2. Uncertainty

News spread quickly about what had happened. Kenji, being a reporter, had to cover for it despite how much it hurt him. His boss said it might offer him some closure if he were to look into it, but he clearly didn't see the distress it caused the man.

Ikuko knew her husband needed time before jumping into it at least, but he did as he had to. He could not say no to orders, after all.

Kenji had asked the bystanders that had called to report the fire what they might have seen before or if they had see how the fire had started. They responded and stated that theybwere only walking by when it started to grow. Kenji then went and asked neighbors who were present at the time, but they were asleep and weren't aware until they heard the loud sounds outside. Dead ends there.

Their son, Shingo, was currently recovering successfully in the hospital, but he was currently unable to be questioned and they were worried about informing him of the fate of his sister. Luna stayed with Minako where Artemis took it upon himself to care for her while she also recovered from the bit of smoke she inhaled. Being a magical cat, she was feeling better much sooner than expected.

Luna gave her account of what had happened to the girls after she regained her talking capability. How Usagi woke her up and told her to jump and escape to somewhere safe.

The girls all felt awful. They all spent most of their time at the shrine, not really going to school because they had to comfort each other. They were supposed to protect her properly this time around and they felt like they've failed.

Once the story hit the news stations, some people who knew the girl were sure to express their condolences for the grieving family. Naru dropped by the apartment that they were given for the time being to drop off some flowers, but even she couldn't hold back her tears for long after seeing how emotionally destroyed the two adults were.

Motoki was usually so happy. Then he lost someone he saw as a sister, and she meant more to him than ever. Patrons would look at him and see that he'd smile for customers walking in, but the smile always fell after. Nothing would be the same without one of his frequent customers.

The dirty blond would look for his best friend, but Mamoru never showed in the past few days. It was concerning, so he finally decided to go and look for him. Knowing the stoic man, he went to the apartment building he lived in. Mamoru just had to be there. Once he got to the door, he just knocked a simple knock.

It was quiet for a moment or two before he heard footsteps approaching.

Mamoru looked awful, to say the least. Motoki had never seen the man shed a tear, but his face had dry stains of tears.

"Hey... uh... Toki." His friend looked at him before rubbing his red eyes.

"Wow... I never thought I'd see you in a... mess?" Motoki tried to joke but even he couldn't laugh.

"Yeah... I'm really not myself right now." A broken tone, as if he were on the verge of another spill of tears. "I never got to tell her..."

Motoki hugged his friend, who usually would have objected, but Mamoru just returned it in full. He felt too weak to do otherwise. A burning sensation was around his waist, but he'd ignored it.

"I read Kenji-san's reports... He says you tried to get in..." Motoki looked his friend in the eyes. Mamoru looked to the side.

"I saw it..." He said, giving vague information.

"Saw what...? Did you see who stared it? Or how..." Mamoru cut him off.

"I saw a lot from Usagi's perspective." His friend gave him a look of surprise. "I went to sleep and all of a sudden... I was in her body. I watched as she rushed around to get the cat and her brother out of the house. I watched as she ran back in for her little brooch she always wears... I watched her last moments before things went black..." Mamoru held his head, the tears threatening to fall again. "I think I even felt her..." He couldn't finish.

Motoki was shocked. It was hard to believe for anyone, but Mamoru did confide in him about his alternate persona of Tuxedo Kamen.

For the moment, he knew that he needed to tend to his friend first before anything else. He walked with him into the apartment and had him sit down. "Does Kenji know...?"

"He probably wouldn't want to. I don't think retelling how his daughter lost a fight would make him feel better." Mamoru sighed.

"Plus... The idea is kinda farfetched. I don't want to upset him in any way."

At this point, Motoki had gotten to glance around the room and see that things still had some semblance of order in life. It was just Mamoru himself that was a problem.

Another knock came at the door. Motoki got up and answered the door to see Usagi's parents.

"Oh, hello, Motoki-san. This... actually saves us the trouble of finding you..." Ikuko said with a bit of a smile.

Mamoru heard them mumbling at the door and he just leaned back on his couch, that same burning feeling went from his shoulders to his collarbone, like something was wrapped around him. It was hot, but it wasn't actually burning. The feeling distracted him from Motoki's return.

"Mamoru-san. That was her parents..." Motoki sat next to him. "They came to give the date of her.. well, you know..." He knew to be careful with what he said around Mamoru.

The man next to him just closed his eyes. "Thanks Toki. Just write it on my calendar and I'll be sure to go. I just... can't feel the need to get up right now."

The other man nodded and got up to do the small job before leaving. At least Mamoru was fine for now, though he mentally noted to keep an eye on him.

\--

The day of the funeral, Mamoru was sure to get ready and actually look fine. He needed to look to be in order and formal. He wasn't going to go looking like he'd just been crushed by a building and survived.

They had chosen an outdoor area for a venue, which was a really nice spot, no matter the season. The autumn leaves were slowly falling around the area and some of the flowers that were still holding onto life had their petals spread out. Everything was gently being pushed by a soft gust of wind that came by every now and then.

The day was sunny and bright without a single cloud, so it couldn't really be seen as a sad day. It was a perfect day for this, at least, to Usagi's standard, or so everyone assumed.

The Tsukinos preferred that no one wear black because it just didn't feel right. Mamoru showed up in a white shirt and formal khaki pants, Motoki wearing a casual blue shirt and grey pants, and the girls showed up in various colored dresses (that pertained to their alter-egos, of course.)

He held himself together during the time where the family said their words about their bright, loving daughter/sister and her closest friends speaking about how they'd met. Rei couldn't help but call her Odango during her word, which got some laughter from the audience.

Then she paused for a moment and looked Mamoru dead in the eyes, which freaked him out a bit.

"... Oh sorry." Rei forgot she was up. "I just... felt something. You know, fire priestess and all..." She continued on before walking back to her seat, her eyes darting over Mamoru.

It unnerved him to no end.

The girls sat at a table with Motoki, Unazuki, and Mamoru. Things were a little silent as Rei kept giving Mamoru odd looks. Yet, he himself was distracted by something that they couldn't see, but it was hard to say something since most of these people were not exactly the type to start conversations without Usagi.

The burning sensation had become more constant and it was mostly on his right side. It was weird but it didn't bother him much either. If anything, that was the only comfort nowadays, but in a weird way.

"Mamoru." Rei started, startling Mamoru out of his trance. "You wouldn't mind dropping by the shrine some day, would you? It should be soon as well."

It was random, but he nodded. "Sure, I'll be able to drop by. Why?"

"Just... Just makes sure to find me." She didn't look at him and the other girls looked at her, a little skeptical.

"Excuse me." All turned to see Shingo. He held out Usagi's brooch and a rose to Mamoru. "They... found these after going through the house... Papa said I should give these to you. For some reason...? I don't know... He's been really weird lately." The boy was looking away. Mamoru took the objects from Shingo and smiled.

"Well, tell him I really appreciate it." He looked at the brooch and flower that were in tact. It surprised him, but it was a magic rose made to live for a longer timethan a typical rose, but how it survived a fire is a mystery to think on later.

The girls just watched on and they knew that the crystal was in the brooch he held and that they had to get it, but they knew they couldn't convince a man as stubborn as Mamoru to hand it over.

After they all had a nice dinner (Mamoru noted all the foods that he'd overheard the Odango talk about and figured these were her favorite dishes), things started to head for a close as people began leaving.

Motoki and Unazuki left after a while. Ami had to leave a little early because she still felt the need to study for... whatever reason. Minako needed to get back and check on Artemis and Luna to make sure that they were okay. The other girls just needed to get home at a reasonable hour.

Mamoru looked over at the small Tsukino family and contemplated if he should go say goodbye to them or not. He figured that he ought to not do so since he did not know them very well. He just took the brooch and rose into his hands and walked out with a wave.

The burning sensation shifted to his right side on the extra space next to him on the sidewalk.

It was a little worrying how this feeling just kept following him and he began to wonder about what it really was. It's even made him worry if his clothes will catch on fire, but it wasn't hot enough to do so, but it started to bug him.

"I just need to get home and sleep..." He ran a hand through his hair.

Once he finally recahed his apartment, he felt a little relaxed. Socializing with people was never his forte.

His gaze shifted over to his bag on the couch and he couldn't feel the need to study so he could distract himself. He lost someone who meant everything to him and nothing could distract him from that right now.

Sighing, he took the rose and brooch and set them on his dresser. He eyed the objects, knowing that these two were the last few objects he saw Usagi holding.

_"How is it that a rose survived that fire?" _His eyes narrowed. These two random objects survived but his Usagi didn't. It was a bitter thought. Then another thought struck.

"It was my flower... made of magic... Usagi was only human..." His hands rose to cover his face.

_"It was, wasn't it?" _His inner voice spat at him.

He had to get to sleep and face tomorrow, but he wasn't sure he could.

\--

_Mamoru was back to this dream. The mysterious woman who would not show her face to him. No matter how close he got, he'd never see her face._

_Something was different this time, however. The closer he got, things began to clear up. The surrounding mist began to move out of his vision for the first time in years._

_He looked down to see that held the rose and Usagi's brooch in his hands. The hands of the woman moved over both of his._

_The brooch opened to reveal the Silver Crystal.__The glow emitting off of it was near blinding, but it died down and he was able to get a better look who was haunting his dreams._

_"U-Usagi...? You're...?" Mamoru did not need this right now. He just lost her a week ago and here she was, in his dreams._

_She held up the crystal in her other hand while the other moved to be placed on his shoulder. Her smile was soft as she looked at him._

_"You found it." He hadn't heard her voice in what felt like forever_ _and it really stung._

_"Why are you... suddenly here...?" He asked, the tears burning in his eyes._

_"It's not like my time here was done yet... Once you get your memories back, you'll see, Endymion." Her hand moved to wipe his tears._

_"See you soon, my prince."_

\--

Mamoru woke up peacefully. There was heat that spread over his chest and to his left, in the fairly empty space of his bed.

Something was there that has been with him since the incident, and he was not sure as to what it was.

He really needed to focus. Now that he has the Silver Crystal, he needs to figure out how he'll earn his memories. Yet, the burning that was constantly around him was becoming too distracting.

He needed to see Rei as soon as possible.

_\--_

_I have no sense of self control. I just have a need to finish this thing with great interest. This is just my mind not thinking about the other big projects I'm supposed to be working on._


	3. Spirits, huh?

Mamoru thought he would probably seem crazy if he told the school that he was missing a day of classes because of... ghosts? Spirits? Likely story. He just called in to say he had an appointment. It wasn't actually a lie.

Calling ahead the day before, Rei agreed to meet him for a fire reading. She and the other girls still had yet to feel ready to return to school, so the other girls would also be present for the fire reading.

Once he reached the shrine, he saw two black birds in the sky, circling.

_"Must be her two birds she warned about."_ The hot feeling at his side felt a bit more intense as he looked up.

The two birds began descent and headed straight for him, or more so, his right arm. Yet, before they could do anything, a whistle was heard.

Rei had called them off and sent them back to their usual patrolling from their trees. Shaking her head, she made her way over to Mamoru.

"Sorry about them. They jump when they think they see danger or sense that something is wrong." She ushered the tall man into her fire reading room, where the other girls already were.

Having him sit down adjacent to her, Rei began to concentrate. The heat sitting next to him on his right side grew warmer.

"You have a very... strong energy reading next to you. I sensed it immediately at the funeral, in which it was fairly spread out. It was actually familiar to me as well. I just cannot pinpoint the feeling very well... It's extremely frustrating." Rei told him as she sensed deeper for the spirit.

"Although, it is a strong spirit from what I'm picking up." She added, her glance moving over to Ami who had her Mercury computer out. She nodded in confirmation to Rei's suspicions.

"It has attached itself to you for quite a while it seems. As to why, I am not yet sure. There are many reasons as to why a spirit could have possibly grabbed a hold on you." She explained.

"It's only a matter of figuring out who or what the spirit is, and why they've chosen to stick to you."

\--

_"Oh God... Where am I? It's completely dark!"_ Usagi freaked as she looked around. Nothing but darkness could be seen. Well, except for her own body.

Looking down at herself, there were black spots nearly everywhere on her legs arms and pajamas. Her pants had burned to shorts and her tank top held large black spots around her stomach area, a few on her chest as well. Her hands were the most black and it spread down a little past her wrists. Her hair had also suffered and burned a bit in different places with large chunks missing.

Seeing all of this really made her want to cry. The whole situation was scary enough and she did not need _this_ right now. Being alone _i__s_ one of her biggest fears.

Eventually, a glow could be seen and she turned. Suddenly, she was now outside, watching her childhood home burn as firefighters worked to put it out. Remembering her brother, she looked to where she left him and saw that he was gone, but then saw an ambulance and she rushed over, phasing through the closed doors and saw that he was being taken care of. Thank God.

Leaving the vehicle as it drove off, she returned to see her parents, both sobbing. Running to them, she tried to grab their hands, but she couldn't. She started crying as she realized that she could touch them. She couldn't tell them that she was okay, even though she clearly was not.

_"Mama... Papa..." _It hurt to see her parents suffering like this. Why did this even have to happen?

She sniffled as she wiped at her eyes and then she turned her attention back to the fire.

_"I guess I'm... in there...?" _It was a scary thought for her. The fact that she's probably dead.

She really thought she'd die in battle as Sailor Moon at some point. It never occured to her that this could have happened.

_"Maybe if I had left the crystal..."_ Someone ran (literally) through her, interrupting her conversation with herself. She couldn't tell from behind who the person was, but he was trying to push past the firefighters on stand by, to get into the burning house.

_"What is that baka doing?!" _Was her reaction before she moved to push him back, but looking up, she saw it was Mamoru.

_"Baka! Don't you dare...!"_ If she wanted to, she would use some very colorful language. For now, she had to focus on keeping the baka from joining her, but she still couldn't touch him or anyone.

Then her father stopped him and she watched as Mamoru finally sat down, looking tired and... she couldn't describe it any better than saying 'broken'. She sat next to him, worried.

_"Just... stay here." _She said as she reached to touch his arm, but forgot about her intangible state.

Oddly enough, this time, she could touch him. Although, she was more worried about his expression as she saw his eyes widen before he finally let himself cry.

\--

She'd tried to wander away sometimes, but she could never get far. Usagi had decided to help Mamoru in any way she could. If just being there was all that he needed, then she'd be next to him.

Having read a lot about ghosts, she'd been wondering about her abilities. From what she can see, she can physically be on things or pass through them by choice. The only person she could touch was Mamoru, as far as she could tell. Floating was also a thing she liked to do, but she was not very good at it, so she usually just stuck to Mamoru's side.

His emotional state worried her a lot. He did not leave his apartment as a mess, but he moved quite slow when he walked around. Usagi always tended to picture Mamoru as a workaholic in the sense that he studied a lot, but he didn't seem to be doing that over the past few days.

_"He's gonna fail tests if he doesn't..." _She snickered a bit, but casually leaned on his shoulder.

"God, that is oddly hot..." Mamoru's other hand moved to rub his left arm that Usagi was leaning on. She watched as it passed through her side so he could feel his arm.

_"Oh am I burning you...?" _She asked, moving away, knowing to not expect an actual repsonse.

"Hm... Cold now..." He shook his head before going back to just sipping coffee and contemplating life.

She just smiled at him.

_"Adorable."_

\--

_"Of course Mama and Papa would make everyone wear bright clothes. Eh. It's not like I'd want to wear black to my own funeral either.__"_ Usagi shrugged.

Hearing her family and friends talk such nice things about her brought her tears out full force and it hurt her to know that they were all hurtung as well. Then Rei looked dead straight at her and Mamoru.

_"Can... Can she see me?"_ She asked herself, feeling the girl's violet eyes on her mostly. Then she shook her head and continued on with her words.

Usagi then smacked her forehead. _"Of course she sensed me! Duh, priestess!"_ She had to laugh at herself for that.

When it came to sitting at a table with the girls, Motoki and his sister for dinner, she'd felt Rei's aura of concern as she watched Mamoru intently. Mamoru's aura reflected a little bit of fear with the feeling of being intimidated and she could understand why he would feel that way under Rei's gaze. She'd remembered from experience.

Being scared of staring her in the eyes, Usagi's gaze drifted to her family who was a few tables over. Her father was eyeing the brooch and rose on the table. Usagi recognized those as the objects that she was holding before she'd passed out (as she likes to call it).

She had to get the crystal. Maybe the rose too since it was a gift from Mamoru that she'd definitely cherished.

She couldn't do much from here, so she decided to jump from person to person via their bodies to get to him. Waiting for someone to walk by, she lept into a random person's body and took control and walked over to her father, but from behind. Then she quickly jumped from them to her father. It felt weird, but she needed to get to her family.

Usagi felt guilty about doing this to her father, but these were important objects that were necessary for the Sailor Scouts.

"Shingo, mind taking thses objects to that... Mamoru?" She had to make him sound suspicious of a guy who knew his daughter.

"You don't want to keep the last objects that Usagi had?" The boy asked, a little confused.

"Right now is not a good time. You know that, Sh- son." She made him sigh and cover his face.

"Okay, dad..." Shingo took the two supposedly offending objects and walked over to Mamoru.

Usagi jumped out from her father's body and was immediately pulled back to Mamoru's side. Rubbing the back of her head that smacked into him, she sighed in relief at seeing Shingo hand the objects over.

Smiling, she pat the boy's shoulder as much as she could, but not without partially passing through him. If only she'd just decided to forget the crystal.

\--

Usagi liked Mamoru's bed since it was big and fluffy, especiallyfor her and her petite body. She loved spending time on it when he was preping for bed or when he was sleeping.

As of the moment, the man was sleeping, but not as peacefully as he originally was.

"S... Serenity...?" He asked in his sleep. She wondered what he was dreaming about and how he knew her past name. After having been with him for a week or so, she'd seen every other woman he'd ever had contact with and none of them were named Serenity.

"Usa... Why...?" He started sweating and she partially wiped it off without disturbing him.

_"Usa, huh?"_ She asked in reply, a small smirk playing on her face. He eventually calmed down and went back to being peaceful in his rest.

_"Weird how I don't even need sleep as a ghost... It's almost infuriating_ _since I used to enjoy sleeping!"_ She pouted a bit before deciding to see if she could actually sleep.

Lying down on Mamoru's left side and laying her arm over his chest in a protective manner, she felt comfortable enough to easily fall asleep. It was a nice feeling for her and it all made her smile in her sleep.

Maybe things ought to just stay like this...

\--

_I need to stop being predictable._


	4. Is it really?

Usagi felt tired after sleeping and waking up early. She forgot a few times about how Mamoru is an early bird, no matter his mood. Most of the time, she was actually awake and didn't know she could sleep. A lot of those hours that he was alseep were spent exploring his bedroom, which got boring after she completed within half an hour the first night. At least now she knew she could rest if need be.

Instead of walking by his side, she decided to just hold onto his arm and just float next to him. He could just drag(?) her along while she napped in the air.

_"Why are we going to Reiiiiii's?"_ She asked as he was walking up the stairs. Sighing at not getting a response (for obvious reasons,) she looked up and spoted Phobos and Deimos and she tightened her grip on Mamoru's arm. _"Uh oh."_

She watched as the two birds detected her presence and immediately assumed of her to be a threat. A whistle cut them off though and she saw Rei in her traditional priestess wear.

_"Oh, thank Mars... hehe." _She laughed to herself. For the next few minutes, she didn't bother to listen to what the two were going on about and was nearly asleep as she felt Mamoru and Rei walk to the fire reading room.

As Mamoru sat down across from Rei, Usagi sat beside him and leaned on the man, nearly falling asleep again.

"You have a very... strong energy reading next to you. I sensed it immediately at the funeral, in which it was fairly spread out. It was actually familiar to me as well. I just cannot pinpoint the feeling very well... It's extremely frustrating." She heard Rei talk.

_"Ah. Glad to know you forgot about my aura. Hehe..."_

"Although, it is a strong spirit from what I'm picking up." Usgai noticed her eyes shift over to Ami, who had her Mercury computer out.

_"Hm... Maybe...?" _A thought came to Usagi.

"It has attached itself to you for quite a while it seems. As to why, I am not yet sure. There are many reasons as to why a spirit could have possibly grabbed a hold on you." She explained.

_"Because I wanted to comfort him in some sort of way... From what I felt, at least..." _Usagi mumbled, blushing a bit.

"It's only a matter of figuring out who or what the spirit is, and why they've chosen to stick to you."

_"Well, if I had a way of actually talking to people. It'd be extremely helpful if I could communicate with ease. That is, without using people." _The blonde rolled her eyes before one of Rei's spiritual papers smacked her in the face, knocking her down.

"I felt some... attitude." Rei said, glaring at the paper that fell backwards and was now floating in place.

"How do you 'feel' attitude?" Minako asked in some disbelief.

"I don't know! Something about the spirit just made me mad."

"Sounds like something Usagi would do..." Makoto commened with a chuckle. That made Rei pause.

"Wait a moment... You may have a point there, Mako-chan..." She resumed her position of concentration.

_"Second time in my... life? I dunno... Moments of conciousness? Whatever. Second time she's hit me IN THE FACE." _Usagi was aware that they could see her sit up and ripped the paper off of her forehead. If she could, she would have pulled Rei's hair.

Then another thought struck her, as Minako was behind Rei. Usagi grinned before getting up and walking next to Minako.

"The heat's disappeared..." Mamoru commented.

"It's moved... It has some range of freedom." Rei sensed and could feel it had moved behind her. "It may be planning to do something."

"I'll say. You smacked it in the face..." Minako trailed off and her face became expressionless before suddenly moving and yanking on Rei's hair.

"Ow! Mina! What the heck?!" The priestess turned to the blonde who looked back with a smile playing on her face.

Feeling where Mina pulled, her hair felt... hot.

"My hair is hot." She looked at Mamoru and held her hair to him. "Is this the level of heat you feel?"

He hesitantly touched her hair and nodded. "Yeah... That's the heat I feel often."

"Does it hurt?" Minako suddenly asked, worry crossing her face.

"Not... really...?" Mamoru looked a little weirded out. Rei held her hand in front of his face, telling him to shut up.

"Mina? Is that actually you?" Minako's hands never were so warm to make hair feel hot. That was the ghost's doing to Mamoru and now her hair.

"Ooh... Yeah... Hehe... No." Minako (Usagi) giggled a bit, now pulling on the loose hair around her. "I just didn't like being hit with one of your stupid spiritual papers! It's the second time she's done that too! I'm not evil, so it's pretty useless! Well, aside from assulting me."

"I don't know. You seem a little like a vengeful spirit." Makoto said, obviously joking.

"Only with Rei." Minako mumbled before falling back onto the wall and holding her head.

"Whoa, you okay there, girl?" Makoto asked, helping to hold the girl up.

"Well, I've just been unconscious... I don't know."

"That must mean the ghost has exited your body..." Rei said. "It's using it's abilities to it's advantage..."

"Well... you did hit it in the face..." Ami commented quietly, but the priestess still heard it and shot a glare at the timid girl.

"_Well_, only way to find out is to make contact." Rei rolled her eyes.

"Like an Ouija board?" Minako asked.

"Don't be stupid. We can use the flames to reach out and actually see the spirit face-to-face."

Usagi rolled her eyes. _"Like that'd work. I'd rather _not_ be anywhere near fire right now. Being dragged into this room hurt enough." _She looked over at the burning flames in the room and felt a shiver go down her ghostly spine.

Ami motioned to her computer and Rei got up to go and inspect.

"I think you made it scared." Ami said, pointing at the readings.

"Hm..." She didn't want to think it was possible. "Fire must be related to how it died. Entities tend to be uncomfortable near something involving their demise. It varies on different levels for them and they can choose who or what they want to attach themselves to, depending on what or who is around at the time of their "official" death."

_"Official death? What is that?"_ Usagi asked.

"What's an official death?" Mamoru asked, now facing the the two girls.

"It's what it's called. After the initial 'first death,' there is the small moment in between the two to give a... chance of sorts.. if it is an unnatural death. The length of that moment can also vary depending on the person and their circumstances."

Mamoru remembered from the moment he woke up to the moment he finally calmed and sat down the day of the fire. In the back of his mind, he could feel that he had a chance. An opportunity to get to Usagi and help her, but he wasn't allowed to go jumping into the house.

"Maybe..." The girls all turned to him. "That's what I felt when Usagi..." They were all a bit confused at what he meant and he took a deep breath before explaining.

"The reason I was there the night of the fire... I had a dream that I was seeing through her vision as it all happened. I saw her black out."

_"... Um, what?" _Usagi asked, a little disturbed. She wondered why he had that ability, if only for that night. Oh no, what if he's see other things?!

_"Oh God... that means he knows what a mess I looked like! I still look like that!"_ She panicked a bit and now she didn't want to be seen. Her ghost still very much looked like a mess from the day when she 'passed out.'

"As Kenji-san told me to calm down, I felt something snap internally, but it wasn't an actual thing in my body. It's difficult to explain, but something broke. Like a connection of sorts..." Mamoru had gone on to explain, and Usagi missed out on a couple of details, but she wasn't really sure if she wanted to know them.

Minako was the only one to have a moment of realization. _"Maybe due to his past life connection with the Princess..."_ She sometimes forgets how she's the only one to know this stuff.

Ami focused on her computer as the ghost's reading suddenly became fearful and panicky. "The levels have changed again."

"Wait... If the ghost hates fire..." There was no way, Rei would be crazy to even consider the possibility. "You haven't been present to any... other fire related deaths lately, have you, Mamoru?"

"Definitely not. That's extremely morbid." He grimaced at the thought of the idea of that. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if that's the case... It may be possible that it's..." She paused for a second before sighing. "It is completely possible that the spirit that's by your side is... Usagi herself."

Silence.

"..._What__?_" Mamoru asked. Usagi snickered since she's never seen him so dumbfounded.

"Yes, I'm afraid. Unless you've done something incredibly embarrassing, you should have nothing to worry about." Rei said and Usagi could only laugh, since she has seen _some_ things.

"Maybe, but that's not your business... So, what makes you think it's her?" He asked, now a little annoyed.

"Who else would pick a fight with the 'beautiful' Rei?" Makoto used air quotes. "Plus..."

"Plus you two were kinda close despite your arguments!" Minako interjected. "Or maybe she felt bad...?"

"Oh yes, a pity haunt. That's what I needed." He rolled his eyes and Usagi did as well.

She moved to Ami's computer and typed on it using Ami's hand.

The blue haired girl watched her hand move and how letters appeared on her screen.

"'It was not out of pity. It was a feeling I had and you all know how I like to follow my gut.'" Ami read out before looking around at the others in the room.

"More like stomach. Or heart, in this case." Rei commented.

"Was that her?" Makoto asked.

"I think so considering I lost feeling in my hand while that was being typed..." Ami mentioned, feeling returning to her hand once more.

_"You're all priceless."_ Usagi sat next to Mamoru and wrapped her arms around his left arm. He could feel the heat again, yet, not only to his arm, but to his face as well.

"Well, it's a good a guess as any... It's a nice gesture, though. She is a kind person..." Mamoru figured, remembering back to a lot that he's seen her do for others, especially these girls. Usagi blushed a bit and smiled.

"Just know that she is attached to you, but not too close, of course. She can still wander around, but obviously not too far from you either. Although, she can get as close as she wants, hence any hot sensations..." Rei made sure that he was aware of this information for personal reasons he may have.

"Oh, alright...? As scary as that sounds, it is not as threatening or worrisome since it is Usagi. I know I can trust her to give me personal space." Mamoru knew she probably would not peak at him in his private moments.

_"You fool. Now I'm curious!"_ The aforementioned spectral girl crossed her arms and blushed.

Then Luna walked into the room, looking a little tired. She spotted Mamoru and then walked over to him, remembering the time she saw him drop off roses for Usagi. He hesitantly reached out and pet her and she let him.

_"Oh... Dear little Luna... She must feel awful."_ Usagi also reached to at least let the cat know she's here, but as per usual, her hand faded through her. Mamoru, however could feel how she had moved.

"No worries, Luna. Your owner misses you just as much as you do her." He spoke softly to the cat, who looked up at him in surprise. Then her gaze shifted over to the girls who all nodded in agreement.

Jumping onto Mamoru's lap, she curled into a ball, thankful for this nice man. Even though he was originally considered a threat, she now felt that she could trust him a lot. His words made her smile for the first time in days for she felt that his words were true.

"You're taking Luna now too?"


	5. Comfort

As he had left the shrine, Ami had given him a device that looked similar to her small computer that she was on during the fire reading session and said it just might help better in terms of communication with Usagi.

"Hm... A little odd she had this on hand to be honest." He commented as he observed it.

_"Nah. Ami's just smart to always be prepared."_ Usagi stated, knowing that Ami always has something up her sleeves.

Mamoru watched as individual letters appeared to formed the words.

"Oh creepy and cool. I suppose she is..." He smiled, knowing that now he could actually understand Usagi better.

His dream came to his mind and he started to wonder if he should tell her as it was a strange occurrence and maybe she'd had similar dreams before. Shaking his head, he decided against it. Sometime soon, he'd tell her.

"So, now that I know it's you who the heat has been coming from..." He smirked as he felt her tense up a bit.

"It explains why my bed has been warmer than usual and as to why I sometimes wake up despite the whole rest of the room being cold. You have some explaning to do, Odango." The heat flared significantly, showing that she was now a little angry. Just a little.

_"Seriously?! Now I'm back to Odango?!"_

"Yes. You are back to being called an Odango Atama. It's payback for being here this entire time and not telling me."

_"Like I could have before? I can't grab anything or anyone other than you. I can possess people on different levels, be it thier bodies or even just a hand, like with Ami, but they are usually unconscious of their actions. Then they 'wake up' and have no recollection of what has happened.__ I can't possess you, if that's what you're wondering also. Trust me, I've tried." _It's as if he could visibly see her roll her eyes.

"Why? That's odd. I thought you said you hated my guts." He chuckled, remembering one of her bouts of anger where she yelled something to that effect at him.

He had expected an immediate response, but nothing appeared as she appeared to have stopped to think.

_"... Well, I can say that I've had time to think since the day I had said that..."_ She just left it at that and he figured he wouldn't push on about it.

* * *

Motoki wasn't sure if he should be concerned or happy for his friend. Of course he was glad to see him in the Arcade again, but he was being strange. Of course he'd be back to his typical studying, but he'd be chuckling to himself and, Motoki wasn't sure, but he swears he heard him say 'Odango Atama.' He'd be looking over at a strange device and Motoki was sure that was the cause of his friend's sudden madness.

"Hey, uh, Mamoru-san!" He appeared to have startled the man.

"Oh, Motoki... I didn't see you come up..." He made no effort to hide the device, so it wasn't a secret communication device to support an addiction of some sort. Thank God.

"How are you doing nowadays? I see that you've been coming into the Arcade again." Motoki had noticed how he came in yesterday looking refreshed and maybe even chipper.

"Ah, really? I guess I finally decided to stop moping around all the time..." Mamoru didn't think his behavior would seem strange, but then he remembered the weeks before. Oops.

"Oh, that's good... I just wanted to check since... well... you know."

"I appreciate the concern, Toki, but I'm fine." He waved him off.

"Well, good!" The man slid into the booth, the seat across from his friend. "I've missed seeing you around anyways."

* * *

"Dad, seriously? It's been nearly two weeks and you're still trying to figure it out?" The teen boy followed his father out of the car and into the Arcade.

"An innocent girl died, Kichiro. You know that I will never rest until we figure it out. The owner's son, Motoki, stated that he last saw her here the day it happened. Talking to... that man there!" The man pointed to Motoku and Mamoru and quickly made his way over.

Motoki noticed the man and boy. "Oh, hello, Detective..." He looked to Mamoru who was confused at the two's sudden appearance.

"Hello again, Motoki. How have you been? Hopefully better." The man asked, patting the young man's shoulder.

"Yeah I suppose I am, but I still need little more time, you know..." Mamoru watched his friends eagerness and bright attitude shift to a look of sadness. He really wanted to tell his friend about who was sitting there with them, but for now, he'd wait and try to not sound crazy.

"This was the young man you mentioned to me previously, correct?" Mamoru looked back up the detective who was motioning to him. Motoki nodded.

"Ah ha. Well, hello..."

"Oh, I'm Mamoru Chiba." He held out his hand for a handshake and the detective took his hand with great enthusiasm.

"Well, Mr. Chiba! It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to ask you some questions about what happened a couple weeks ago to... Tsukino Usagi." He slowed down a bit at the end, hoping to lessen the impact since Motoki did explain that this man was also fairly close to the girl.

"Okay... I can do that."

"Good lad."

Motoki got up and sat on the same side as Mamoru while the Detective and the boy sat across from them. The boy seemed to not be giving a care in the world about being here, and Mamoru wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he felt the heat on him intensifyinglike it did earlier. It must be anger, but why...?

"So, Mr. Chiba, can you describe the day as when you last talked to her?" The man began.

"Do you wish for me to start from the beginning of my day, or the moment in which I saw her?" Mamoru asked.

"Ah good catch. I would prefer the moment of when you ran into her, please." The man chuckled at Mamoru's critical mindset.

"Well, I usually meet her here at Crown and, typically, we start yelling at each other. More or less, it was just friendly banter on my end, though I'm not sure about how she saw it. Probably as merciless bullying, considering I did make her upset quite often." He glance down at the communication device but did not see any words taking form.

"I see... Generally you just teased her... Hopefully it didn't upset her... much...?" The man asked cautiously. Mamoru picked up on the indication.

"I honestly..." Mamoru glanced down again at the device.

_"NO! Not at all!"_

"I honestly doubt that. Usagi is a stubborn girl that really doesn't know how to quit. Even during our arguments, she'll refuse to back down before Motoki has to jump in and stop us." He chuckled a bit at the memory.

"Oh, well.. That is good, I suppose."

"Though, for that day... She wasn't in the best mood. Her friend Minako actualy asked her about still being in the dumps, but over what, I have no idea. Actually, that few times I saw her that week, she barely smiled. Something else must have made her upset the weekend before." Mamoru was not sure, of course, but he was sure something changed for her in that short period of two days.

The boy across from them tensed a bit, and both Motoki and Mamoru noted it.

"Interesting..." The man took notes. "Anything else?"

"Not much that I noticed. I later fropped a gift for her at her house to maybe cheer her up, but then the whole... fire... happened and..." Mamoru still could not bear to think about it. The very thought of it made him tear up. He felt that Usagi had shifted a bit as the heat circled around his body. Probably a hug.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to speak anymore. That's enough for now. I just wanted to get your account of things." The man gave a sad smile to Mamoru.

"I'm looking into it as deeply as possible to find and catch whoever did it. Based on all accounts of people I've interviewed, she loved and was loved in great quantity. I assume the same from you...?" He asked.

Mamoru wasn't sure how he should answer. He did love her. More than anything, really. Although, she was still sitting by his side and would probably go on about it for a long time.

"...Yes. She was the kind of person who could make anyone smile. She had a big heart and generally made everyone's day brighter. How could anyone not love her?" The man smiled at Mamoru's words.

"Just from hearing about her, it makes me happy knowing how many lives she's changed. Hell, I'm even more determined to find out who did it, just to give you all the closure that you need." He motioned for his son to get out of the booth so that they could leave.

"Well, I hope you both have a good rest of your day. Find comfort in those close to you and you can maybe find some semblance of normalcy." He waved goodbye as he walked out, his son trailing behind him.

Motoki elbowed Mamoru.

"Look who finally admits that Usagi changed their life! I never thought you had it in you. Especially to flat out declare your love. That was definitely something."

Mamoru turned a little red before replying, "That was not what that was! Yes, she changed my life, but-"

"Nope you can't deny it now." The blond haired man laughed.

"Toki, you're blowing a few simple sentences and their meanings out of proportion." The ebony haired man practically growled at his friend.

"Haha okay. You can continue to think that, buddy. Though, really... did she make a big impact on you?" Motoki asked curiously.

Mamoru sighed and leaned back on the seat of the booth.

"Of course she did."

* * *

**_Sorry for being late. I just have a lot to worry about now with being a Junior in high school so now I gotta look at scholarships I can apply for, colleges in general, PSAT, a big Junior Project and classes._****_I'm working to update the other stories to so don't worry._**


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